Amazing keyboard design

bbloke

bbloke

Registered
It may only be in very early stages, but a keyboard where the keys include mini OLED displays, so that the user can see what each key does under the circumstances, sounds like a great idea to me. :)

http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus

Original site said:
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Original site said:
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One thing struck me... it looks like the other keyboard pictures show a Mac keyboard layout... :)
 
One of the best ideas I've seen in ages, will probably cost a packet though! Apple should get in on this idea!
 
I think it is just a concept for now, but they are going for a patent and I bet this product would be really popular. It might only be a matter of time before someone pounces and makes them a good offer to develop the idea. But I wonder how difficult it would be for application developers to provide support for such a thing. Also, in the meantime, I wonder how hard it would be for the keyboard manufacturer to provide downloadable configurations/drivers/whatever for different applications, to get the ball rolling... ?
 
Zammy-Sam said:
some kind of backlight 2.0, huh? ;)
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My mental parser is having a bit of a time with that but...

FWIW, there is no backlight, they are OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). The have some real potential if they can just make the buggers work!
 
The only thing it's missing is a firewire and USB port. Those are just the things I want though. :p I think this is one of the best ideas in a long time. I really want one. Seeing a dead pixel on a key drive me nuts though. :rolleyes:
 
i want one. i don;t know why. but i know i want one

plastic keys are so primitive. i mean it's just a moulded plastic square. with some paint(!) on it.
 
um. wireless would be cool. but a wired version with usb2 or firewire hub would be good. and i guess a driver would be able to "tell" the keyboard what app is active, and which keyboard set to load.

i want one now damnit : (
 
Unless I'm very much mistaken, it looks like the idea has brought them a lot of attention, so they have added more pages!

http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/answers/

It’s in the initial stage of production.

We hope it will be released in 2006.

It will cost less than a good mobile phone.

It will be real.

It will be OS-independent (at least it’s going to be able to work in some default state with any OS).

It will support any language or layout.

Moscow is the capital of Russia.

Each key could be programmed to produce any sequence.

It will be an open-source keyboard, SDK will be available.

Some day it will be split (and made “ergonomic”).

It will most likely use the OLED technology (e-paper is sooo slow).

Our studio is located two blocks from the Kremlin.

It will feature a key-saver.

Keys could be animated when needed.

It has a numeric keypad because we love it.

There’s no snow in Moscow in summer.

It will be available worldwide (why not?)

OEM is possible (why not?)
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Press information and commentary: http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/press/


E-Mail updates: http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/subscription/



Looking very promising, to me! :)
 
If they actually developed this, which it looks like they're gonna try, it'll be huge. Think about it; the first real advancement in computer interfaces in... what, 30, 35 years? How long has the good ol' keyboard and mouse been around? Everybody would want one of these.
 
First real advancement in computer interfaces? *cough* ... After all: If you can type, you're not actually looking at the keys, so most of the time, it's just a lightshow thing. (Sure, a very nice one, but still...) - So I have to wonder if things like this will actually hinder people who should learn to type with ten fingers... I wouldn't call this the "first real advancement in comp. interfaces". It's a nice idea, doable and it certainly looks good. The "answers list" above shows a "keysaver", which would probably be a screensaver applied to the keyboard (i.e. handling the keyboard like one big screen)... It'll all look very Sci-Fi. Fun.
 
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